More Than Anyone
by LookCloser2
Summary: Haley has a secret - she's raising her sister's baby. What happens when she lets Lucas and Nathan in on the secret? Will it bring the Scotts together or tear them apart? Naley Lathan
1. Chapter 1

I wrote this story as a challenge for myself but I posted it for feedback on my writing. Reviews are always appreciated. Enjoy.

Oh - This will be Naley with Lathan later on, so be warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or its characters. The song More Than Anyone is by Gavin DeGraw.

"Reveal a secret that nobody else knows about you." Nathan read. He looked up from Brooke's "serial date" card and smiled at Haley.

"Okay," Haley said, leaning forward. "When I was in second grade, I stole some candy."

"Come on, that's not a secret." Nathan laughed. "Tell me something for real."

"Okay. I have something I want to show you." Nathan smiled as Haley gave in and started walking, pleased that maybe now he would get to know her better. He swiftly caught up to her as she walked all the way back to her house.

"Gee, Haley, moving a little fast, aren't we?" he joked, trying to ease the tension. He received a glare for the remark and promptly shut his mouth, knowing better than to try again.

Haley unlocked the front door of her house and pushed it open. She entered and motioned to Nathan to follow before tiptoeing up the stairs as though afraid to wake somebody up.

"Haley, it's okay. Your parents aren't home – the car is gone." Nathan said softly, unsure why he was whispering. He jumped when suddenly a young girl appeared from a door to the left.

"Hi." whispered Haley. She handed the girl some money and added, "Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your night, Becky."

Nathan glanced at Haley with a questioning look on his face but she shook her head slowly and walked into the bedroom Becky had just come out of. When Nathan entered the doorway he stopped, aghast. The room was dark but he could tell it would be a soft, baby blue during the daytime. There were cows and moons on a border near the ceiling. Across the room, he could make out a white crib and above it a mobile, softly playing music.

"What –" he began, but Haley shushed him. She went over to the crib and leaned down. With three strides Nathan crossed the nursery and peered into the crib. Lying under a blanket lay a tiny baby, fast asleep. "Wow." Nathan whispered. "How old is he?"

"Six weeks." Replied Haley. "Nathan, I'd like you to meet Tyler James."

"Is he yours?" Nathan asked, unsure. He had never seen her with any boy but Lucas, and as far as he knew they were just friends.

"Now he is." Haley explained. "He's my sister's, but she couldn't handle having a baby and she left him the day he was born. I walked into the hospital in Charleston, where she'd had him, to see him and she was in her room, packing her bag. She handed him to me and said, 'Take care of him for me. Tell him I love him.' And she grabbed her bag and walked out, leaving me with her newborn son in my arms."

"Who's the father?" Nathan asked, curiously. Taylor was older than they were, but Nate had often played ball against older boys from the neighborhood.

"I don't know."

"Wow, Haley. And you're going to raise him yourself?"

"My parents help a little. But they took one look and said, 'I can't deal with another one. You're on your own.'"

"But you're still in high school."

"Yeah. My parents watch him while I'm at school and I work down at Karen's Café to earn some money. We put him in Lucas' old crib in the back and he just naps all afternoon."

"Who else knows about this?"

"Lucas does, he helps me out a lot. He tells me that he wants to be the favorite uncle that Tyler can always come to for help, or to be spoiled." She laughed. "And Karen knows, of course, she's helped out so much, and Keith, and my parents. And now you."

"Haley," began Nathan, "Why me? I mean, why are you telling me all this, showing me? It's not like we really know each other, right? And I've kinda been a jerk to you, and to Lucas."

"Well, it's like I said before, right? I like how you let me all the way in, past all the bluster that you give everybody else. I figured maybe I'd do the same. Let you share a part of me that very few people know about. My nephew – my son."

"Can I – Can I hold him?" Nathan asked, a smile lighting up his face when Haley nodded yes. It wasn't the cocky smile he gave everybody else. It was a real, honest-to-goodness smile. Gently, Haley lifted the sleeping baby out of the crib and placed him in Nathan's arms. Nathan held him tightly, pressed close against his chest, and rocked him gently. "He's beautiful." He spoke softly.

A light flashed past the window as Haley and Nathan heard a car engine and the slam of a car door. A key twisted in the lock and the front door creaked open. "Haley, we're home!" called a voice. Hurriedly, Nathan placed the sleeping baby back in the crib and Haley tucked the blanket around him.

But Mrs. James was still standing in the entryway at the bottom of the stairs and saw Nathan follow Haley out of her grandson's room.

**"**Haley!" cried Mrs. James. "I thought we agreed to keep it a secret!"

"You should go," Haley said to Nathan. "Thank you for tonight."

Haley…" he looked at her, not wanting to leave her alone in this position.

"Just go, Nate. I'll see you at school on Monday."

He nodded and went down the stairs, silently slipping passed Mrs. James, who glanced at him angrily before returning her glare to her youngest daughter. After Nate closed the front door behind him, he paused on the steps, listening to the angry voices inside.

"It's my decision, Mom, who I tell about _him_. And it's not like I did anything wrong here."

"Do you know what will happen if this gets out? What it will do to us?"

"What, Mom? We live on the edge of town, anyway. It's not like we have a high standing to protect. And what about your grandson, Mom? Do you want him to be ashamed of who he is?"

"But Nathan Scott? You had to tell _Nathan Scott_?" Nathan winced at Mrs. James' furious words, knowing she had a point. Although he would never tell Haley's secret, he had a reputation for trouble. And his family practically ran the town, after all. It just showed how much Haley trusted him, and how much Mrs. James did not. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his letterman's jacket and ran quickly down the rest of the steps, beginning his long walk back to his car.


	2. Chapter 2

He returned to her house the next morning and tossed rocks at her window to get her attention.

"Trying to wake up my parents?" she asked, coming up behind him. "That's their room."

"Look, Haley, I wanted to talk. I – I heard what your mom and last night and I wanted to tell you that you can trust me."

"Like I trusted you to leave Lucas alone? You guys beat each other up on the court at the away game. Or how about at your dad's party, when you passed my note around?"

"But Haley," Nathan cut in. "I didn't even –"

"I know you didn't, Nathan. But the point is you could have. Last night was a mistake, Nathan. I should never have trusted you with something so important."

"Haley, please, just listen to me. I know that I haven't always been the best guy, all right? I screw up a lot. But you can trust me, okay?"

"Nathan, I just, I can't do this. We aren't –"

He cut her off as he leaned down and kissed her.

After a second she pulled back. "You shouldn't have done that, Nathan."

"I wanted to," he said, looking into her scared eyes.

"Yeah," she whispered, then reached up and threw her arms around her neck, kissing him forcefully, willingly, desperately.

She watched him at school the next day as he joked with his teammates in the hallway. For a moment she thought that this was how it would be, so kind to her in private and then ignoring her whenever one of his buddies could see. But just then he saw her and their eyes met. A small smile formed on his lips, becoming a grin as he jogged down the hallway towards her. He gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

The next day he pulled her into an empty hallway and kissed her passionately.

"Nathan, we can't do this here, right now," Haley said.

He grinned cockily. "We just did. All right, I'll kiss you later." With a gentle laugh he walked away. Neither knew that later everything would have changed. Neither knew that later, they would come very close to losing everything.

She was leaving him another message on his cell when he showed up in her doorway. The first thought was, _Why aren't you still in the hospital?_ Her second thought was, _Thank God he's here, still breathing._ When he collapsed at the basketball game she had panicked. She assumed it had been the stress, after all he had been lashing out all week and blamed it on pressure from his dad and from himself. It was a long time before he admitted that it was drugs.

"Nobody answered the door." He said hoarsely.

"They're gone for the weekend…how are you?"

"Not so good." He answered and he sounded like a lost little boy, about to cry. "It's just, I've made a lot of mistakes, Haley. Sometimes because of my dad, sometimes by choice." Nathan sat shakily on her bed, staring at his hands. "Sometimes I can't do it anymore."

"It's okay." Haley reassured him, afraid for him.

"No. It's not okay. I'm not okay. When I fell on the floor tonight, I was so scared. I was so terrified. And I saw you, and I promised myself that if I could just get up I'd walk over to you and tell you how much I need you, how much I want you. And nothing else matters." She kissed him then, and in that kiss was a promise that she would always be there when he needed her, that she needed him just as much, and that together they would get through this.

"Haley, would you stay with me tonight?" He asked her slowly, hoping she'd say yes, afraid she'd say no. But she knew that he needed her and that she would be there for him like she had just promised with that kiss; she nodded yes.

The baby started to cry in the next room and she went over and fetched him from his crib. She quickly warmed a bottle for him and returned to her room with Tyler in her arms. Haley sat on her bed, leaning on pillows set against the headboard and began to give Tyler his bottle.

"Can – Can I?" Nathan asked. She looked over at him and silently held the whimpering baby out. Nathan took him; Tyler's whimpers subsided as Nathan held him close. Nathan touched the bottle to the baby's lips and he took it eagerly, until the room was filled with silence except for the loud sucking noises of Tyler eating.

"He likes you," said Haley, and Nathan smiled weakly.

"I've never been around babies before." He confided. "I mean, I've never really had the chance, especially not having any sisters or brothers."

"Except Lucas." Haley cut in.

"Yeah," grimaced Nathan. "Except Lucas. But then, he's never really been my brother, has he?" He sighed, wondering what life might have been like if Dan hadn't rejected Lucas. But then, if he hadn't abandoned Karen when he found out she was pregnant, he, Nathan, might not be here at all. The whole situation was screwed up, really.

Haley and Nathan sat companionably in silence, with Tyler drinking his bottle in Nathan's arms. When Tyler finished and Nathan had awkwardly burped him, he tried to hand him to Haley.

"No, she said, "He's comfortable with you." She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. They snuggled Tyler between them as all three drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Nathan was true to his promise. Two weeks after that night, Tyler smiled for the first time – at Nathan. He was there when Tyler rolled over for the first time and to soothe him when he began teething.

When Tyler was almost four months old, Jake told the town his secret about his daughter, Jenny. Lucas tried to convince Haley to use the opportunity to tell everyone about Tyler, but she wasn't ready.

A week later, Nathan told Coach Whitey about Tyler. Whitey helped him to understand that he was in control of his life and his priorities. Nathan admitted that he loved the game, but that he couldn't do it anymore. And Whitey watched him walk away from the game that they both loved so much, because it was no longer the game that they had once loved. It had become something else – a source of competition, pressure, bitterness, and rivalries. And he went to Haley and to Tyler, because they were what made him truly happy.

Lucas and Nathan's relationship slowly improved as they both tried to be there for Haley and Tyler. "Look man, you don't have to be nice to me because I'm going out with Haley." Nathan told Lucas one day.

"I'm not," Lucas insisted, but Nathan wasn't sure. He didn't really deserve Lucas's friendship after being such an ass for all those years.

It was February when Lucas nearly died. Suddenly Nathan realized that their lives were hanging by a moment, so precariously placed that with one wrong move they could be destroyed. Haley couldn't bear to look at Lucas after their previous confrontation.

"_Don't lecture me, Haley!" yelled Lucas. "I know that!"_

_"So stop it!" she screamed back._

_"I can't; it's complicated!"_

_"It's not complicated. It's simple. It's really simple. What you're doing is wrong! And if you can't see that, then I don't like the person you're becoming!" she spat at him._

_"Okay, the person I'm becoming?" he asked furiously. "What about the person you're becoming?"_

_"What does that mean?"_

_"You know what it means, Haley! Nathan says a few nice things to you to get back at __me,__ and you fall for it!"_

_"Oh my God!"__ Haley cried. "I did that for you!"_

_"You did that for me?!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Is that what you tell yourself every time you kiss him? That you did it for me and Ty? You know, just because he's helped you with Tyler it suddenly erases every jackass thing he's done in the past!? You're the one that's lying! If you're looking for betrayal, look to yourself!"_

_"You know what, Luke? Next time you see me, don't talk to me!"_

_"Fine!"_

_"Fine!"_

Now, the next time she saw him he wouldn't be able to talk. He lay there bloody and unconscious in the emergency room, she knew, and now she might never get a chance to say how sorry she was. After a lifetime of being best friends, of it being them against the world, how had it come down to this? He was right, though, she knew. What she had with Nathan had happened too quickly. She had agreed to tutor him so that he would stop hazing Lucas and spontaneously she had told him about Ty. She had fallen in love with him when she saw how sweet and gentle he was with Tyler. But maybe it had been too fast. After all, they were sixteen. What could they possibly know about love? When she had confronted him about it they had fought. Now she had lost the two boys that meant more to her than anything, except, of course, Tyler, and she didn't know what to do about it.

Peyton confronted Nathan on his driveway as he played basketball.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. They were better friends than they'd been lovers, but it wasn't like they hung out together all the time.

"Haley, actually." Nathan sighed and looked away. "Listen, I don't know what you did to her," Peyton continued, "but I do know she's the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"You including yourself in that?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I am."

"Yeah, she is," agreed Nathan. "She just doesn't believe me."

"So what happened?" Peyton asked curiously.

"I told her that I only went after her at first to screw with Lucas."

Peyton laughed. "And now?"

"Now, it's about us…and – and her son."

"Haley has a baby?"

"Yeah…he's her sister's biologically, but her sister split, and now Haley is taking care of him."

"How long have you known, Nate?"

"Three months. Since he was six weeks old."

"Wow."

"That's what I said. But Peyton, I can't lose them. Haley is my life, and so is Tyler. And Ty has Haley, and he has me, but…he needs his Uncle Luke to be there for him, too."

"Then maybe you should go tell Lucas that."

"Peyton, he's in a coma. He can't hear me."

"Nathan, when my mom was in the hospital, I was so lost. My dad was in his own world and I had no one to turn to. I spent a lot of time sitting by her bed, just talking. I told her all my problems. Even if she couldn't hear me, it helped me feel better. And who knows, Nate. Maybe he will hear you. It's worth a try, anyway."

And Nathan talked to him, and Peyton was right. It did help. For once, he was spilling his feelings to Lucas – some forbidden, some not – and they didn't end up wrestling on the ground as they had so many times before. But he doubted Lucas would be able to wrestle right now. Hell, he might not even wake up again. And just as he thought that, Lucas shifted his hand onto Nate's and his eyes opened slightly.

"Hey." Said Nathan. "We missed you, man."

"Water," Lucas croaked. Then, "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story. Let me get your mom." And Nathan knew that however messed up everything was, whatever the future would hold and however the past had impacted them, that it would all be okay.


	4. Chapter 4

When Tyler was almost six and a half months old Lucas announced – in the middle of a cemetery at night, no less – he was moving with Keith to Charleston.

"C'mon, Haley, it's not that far." Lucas insisted. "I'll still see you."

"Not like now! Who's going to go thrift-store hunting with me, Lucas? Who's going to go shopping for bad music with me or play with Ty with me or change his diapers so I don't always have to? Who's going to comfort him when he's crying uncontrollably and I can't make him stop? Who will be around to share it with when he starts crawling or says his first word?"

"Nathan." answered Lucas, smiling gently. "You're my best friend, Hales, and you always will be. And I'll always be there for you and for Ty. But I need to go."

Haley was still thinking about that conversation later on when Nathan told her he could love her forever. She realized that they made a family together, she and Nathan and Ty, and she never wanted that to change. So when Nathan asked her to marry him she laughed and protested but in the end she said yes. Because she knew that what they had found in each other was special and the love they shared could overcome anything.

It wasn't easy and no one thought that they could make it work. They didn't understand the love that Nathan and Haley had for each other and for their son, a love that made even the most impossible dream seem attainable and the most terrible situation okay. They went through hell, but they stuck together through it all, because they loved each other. The night Nathan and Haley got married Tyler said his first word – Dada. He learned to walk in the following months and Nathan finally introduced him to Grandma Deb on his first birthday. Karen and Keith were there to help celebrate, along with Lucas, who had returned, Peyton, Brooke and Coach Whitey. Dan still didn't know about Tyler and Nathan was happy to keep it that way. It wasn't easy to keep such a big secret in such a small town, but its inhabitants were good at keeping secrets and feared the consequences if it got out.

Tyler was almost sixteen months old when Hayley's sister, Taylor, came to town. Nathan recognized her quickly as the girl he lost his virginity to one drunken night at his parents' beach house. Lucas found the entire situation hysterical, while Haley knew nothing about it. Nathan didn't intend to change that. It wasn't until Taylor met Tyler that their world began to unravel bit by bit.

When Haley walked in the door to the apartment she was first shocked, then horrified, to see her older sister standing there.

"Tay, what are you doing here?" she demanded, less than thrilled. A thousand thoughts flew through her mind at once, first of panic, then of reason, and finally of annoyance. It was just like her sister to show up out of the blue and make herself at home.

Later that night, after Nathan had left the room, came the both expected and dreaded question.

"So, uh, where is he?" asked Taylor.

"Tay…" warned Haley.

"He's my son, Haley. I want to know where he is. Who adopted him? What were they like? Where is he now? Do you ever see him?" Haley's response to the barrage of questions was a quick glance to the nursery door, behind which Tyler lay sleeping soundly. Taylor didn't miss it.

"Haley? What's going on?"

"Tay…"

"Where's my son?" demanded Taylor loudly, so loudly that Nathan came back into the room, still toweling off his hair from his shower.

"Haley?" asked Nate. "What does she mean?"

"First of all, Taylor, he's not your son." Haley declared. "He's mine – ours. You abandoned him the day he was born and he's never known any parent but me and Nathan." Just then Tyler woke up and started to cry. All three adults rushed into the nursery where the baby had pulled himself up and was clinging to the bars of his crib. His light blue eyes were full of tears and his sweaty curls stuck to the back of his head.

"Mama," he sobbed. "Mama." He reached out for Haley who picked him up and rubbed his back soothingly. He wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and buried his teary face in her shoulder. Taylor's smile at finally seeing her son dimmed when she realized that she had truly lost him. Haley had been right. She wasn't his mother anymore. Haley was.

Nathan and Taylor went for a run the next day. They said it was for some in-law bonding, but it was mostly to clear their heads.

"If I don't run every day I go nuts." Admitted Taylor, panting. "Started when I left home. Been running ever since."

"Yeah, about that." Nathan spoke. "Why did you leave home? I mean, you left before your senior year ended and all. There were all those rumors, but I was never really sure…" He trailed off, waiting to hear her response.

"Nathan, it's complicated. I just couldn't deal with it anymore. All the drama, all the everything. So I split. But come on, let's go wash up." Taylor's idea of washing up was unlike Nathan's; she grabbed Nathan's hand ran into the icy ocean waters, laughing.

Now shivering and soaked, Nathan lead Taylor to his parents' beach house to dry off and warm up.

"Tell you what," he told her as they entered. "I'll turn on the fireplace if you grab the towels. They're –"

She cut him off. "I know where they are. Varsity basketball?"

Nathan bit his lip and nodded. Even if she hadn't recognized him immediately, he had known that she would figure it out eventually. He had been drunk that night, far too drunk, but that didn't change the fact that they had slept together. "Yeah. Um, I was pretty wasted that night," he said, acknowledging that he understood her comment.

"Oh what, you don't remember me?" she teased.

"No, of – of course I remember you. I just didn't think you would come back to bite me in the ass."

"Well this time I'll only nibble."

Nathan tensed although he realized she was only joking. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was having too much fun watching you squirm." Admitted Taylor with a chuckle. That statement earned her a clenched jaw and a glare. "Does that make me bad?" She flirted with him, knowing he wouldn't reciprocate but having fun all the same. He ignored the comment, keeping his jaw clenched and giving her a look that wasn't angry but nevertheless warned her to watch it. Neither spoke again until they were seated with hard drinks before the fire.

"So, are you going to tell me why you're really in town?" Nathan asked.

"I wondered what he was really like. Tyler, I mean. I thought that Haley would have kept pictures, might even have an address where I could see him, you know? I never dreamed that she would have kept him. I mean, she's still in high school. But then again, Haley never did things the normal way. I guess you two got married, huh?"

"Yeah." He rubbed the ring on his finger, something he had developed as a nervous habit. "I really love her. And Ty is our lives."

"So you've been there all along?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Since he was a newborn. His first word was dada." They smiled at the precious memory Nathan had just shared. To Taylor, Nathan and Haley had created the perfect family for Ty. They were better parents than she ever could have been, but it made her sad to know that she wasn't a part of her son's life, that he didn't even know her.

As Nathan finished off the last of his drink he stood up, impatient to return to Haley and to his son. "Taylor," he began. "Could you maybe, well, could you not tell Haley about…us? It would just upset her, and it's all in the past now, so…" Taylor agreed, understanding her sister's fiery disposition when she received bad or shocking news and not wanting to bring World War III down upon the household.

"Hey. So, uh, I was thinking about asking Karen if we can live here until Taylor's gone. Maybe, like, put a mattress behind the counter or something. Lucas' old crib is still back there too." Haley announced when Nathan walked into Karen's Café the next day while Haley was working.

"Yeah, um, we need to talk about her." Nathan said uncomfortably.

"Huh, yeah. I warned you about her. Give her an inch and she'll take whatever the hell she wants. I know her a lot better than you do." She walked over to a booth and sat down.

"All right, Haley, we got married so quickly we never really had the talk that most people have when they get engaged. About, you know, past relationships…" Nathan paused, staring down at his hands and playing with his wedding ring, "sexual history."

"Ah. That's probably because I can give you mine in under ten seconds while yours is catalogued in the Library of Congress." Haley joked, knowing that the Nathan who had slept with half the cheerleading squad in one night was not the man who was sitting in front of her now. "What's going on?"

"All right." Continued Nathan quietly. "My first time was at this party at my parents' beach house. I was pretty wasted and I never really saw the girl again…until now."

"Until now…" Her emphasis on his last words begged him to explain a situation far different from the one she was suddenly realizing he meant.

"Haley, listen. I swear I hadn't even heard of you when this happened, okay?" He begged her to understand.

"Taylor?" She accused, and the second he glanced up at her she could see the awful truth in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just, look. I thought it might come out, and I just thought you should hear it from me."

"You slept with my sister."

"This was like two years ago! I – look, I didn't know you, I didn't even know there was going to be a you." He protested, not caring about anything but her understanding and forgiveness.

"Nathan. When was it?" Haley questioned, suddenly fearful. Even the story she had just learned wasn't as horrifying as the thought that had just hit her.

"Like two years ago. Just after I made Varsity. It was the middle of the season; they bumped me up from the freshman team." Nathan repeated, rambling, unsure of why she was asking but still waiting for her to tell him it was okay, they were okay.

"Nathan, do you remember when Taylor left town? All the rumors that circulated around school?"

"Yeah…but Taylor said…" Nathan trailed off, trying to remember just what Taylor had said and trying to make sense of what his wife was telling him.

"Nathan, those rumors were true. Taylor was pregnant. With Ty. That's why she left."

"Does that mean…"

"Yeah. Ty could be yours. Really yours." Haley held his gaze, wondering what could be going through his head right now.

"No." Said Nathan, more sharply than he meant to. "The numbers are wrong. His birthday is in the beginning of October. We – we got together in February. It doesn't – that doesn't make sense. And besides, this is Taylor. I mean, it could have been anybody."

"Nathan…when my parents asked Taylor who the father was, she refused to tell them. She'd just gotten out of a serious relationship and she hadn't been with anyone for weeks. She said she knew which night it had happened and who the father was, but she wouldn't tell us."

"So maybe she lied! Maybe –"

"Nate, do you remember how small Tyler was as a newborn? How your hand could support his entire back and how it was a long time before he caught up in size with the other babies his age? He was a preemie, Nathan. He was born a month early. There's not really any alternative. You're his father, Nate."

"Oh." Whispered Nathan and he didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. "I should go talk to Taylor."

"Yeah. Maybe you should."


	5. Chapter 5

She wasn't home when he returned to the apartment so he grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and walked to his son's room. Lucas glanced up from the rocking chair where he'd been babysitting and reading to Tyler. Nathan leaned against the doorframe and listened.

_ "That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it's because you're truly a wise man."_

Nathan smiled slightly because he knew the words in the book were true. He watched his son cuddle with his uncle. Luke's arms encircled the infant on his lap as he flipped the page of the book and rocked the chair gently.

_ "What are __you__ doing here," he asked the drunkard whom he found sitting silently in front of a collection of bottles, some empty and some full._

_"Drinking," replied the drunkard, with a gloomy expression._

Nathan looked down at the beer in his hands and sighed softly.

_"Why are __you__ drinking?" the __little__prince__ asked. _

_"To forget," replied the drunkard. _

_"To forget what?" inquired the __little__prince__, who was already feeling sorry for him. _

_"To forget that I'm ashamed," confessed the drunkard, hanging his head. _

_"What are __you__ ashamed of?" inquired the __little__prince__, who wanted to help._

"I'm not ashamed of him." Nathan spoke up suddenly. His brother and startled son looked up at the story time intruder.

"What?" asked Luke.

"Of Tyler, I mean. I'm not ashamed of him." Nathan explained.

"I know, Nate. I know you're not," said Luke gently. The toddler squirmed in his arms and Lucas passed him to his father. Tyler grabbed Nathan's neck and clung to him tightly as he whispered, "Dada." His chubby little arm stroked Nathan's cheek and Nate felt his heart break all over again as he held his adorable little boy.

Luke started to get up but Nathan broke in. "No – Luke, keep reading. Please?"

"Okay," replied Luke, flipping through the pages to one of his favorite parts.

_ "Goodbye," said the fox. "Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."_

_"Anything essential is invisible to the eyes," repeated the little prince, in order to remember._

_"It's the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important."_

_"It's the time that I spent on my rose," repeated the little prince, in order to remember._

_"People have forgotten this truth," the fox said, "But you mustn't forget it. You become responsible for what you've tamed. You're responsible for your rose. . . ."_

_"I'm responsible for my rose," repeated the little prince, in order to remember._

Suddenly the front door banged shut. Nathan walked quickly out into the hall, with Tyler half-asleep still in his arms.

"Taylor." He spoke, his voice catching in his throat.

"Nate? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"Taylor. You didn't tell me. You just left and you left him and – Why did you never tell me?!" He ended with a strangled yell, pleading with her to explain.

"Oh. You know." Said Taylor quietly, looking at his left shoulder rather than meeting his eyes.

"Yeah." He struggled to keep his voice calm, knowing that yelling wouldn't help and not wanting to upset his son.

"How –" she began, but stopped. How he'd found out didn't really matter right now. Besides, the truth had a way of coming out eventually.

"So it's true?" Nathan asked when Taylor paused unsure of how to continue.

"Yes. It's true. I just, I didn't know how to tell you. You were a little freshman, just a baby, really. So I went to Charleston for a few months to sort out my thoughts. He came early and they handed him to me in the hospital bed. I took one look at his innocent, sleeping face and I got so scared that I would screw up like I always do. And then he opened his eyes and they were the same electric blue as yours, although more watery, and I realized that I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't be the mother that he deserved. So when Haley came I gave him to her, because I knew that she would make sure he was happy. She has a maternal instinct that I will never have. I never expected that she would choose to raise him herself, but I suppose that's Haley for you. Thank you for helping her, Nate. Thank you for being there, for Haley, and for Tyler."

"Of course I was there! He's my son!" spat Nathan viciously. "Although you never saw fit to tell –"

"Nate?" asked a voice behind Nathan. Taylor and Nathan spun around to see Lucas standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He had followed Nathan from the bedroom and heard the entire exchange. "What's going on?"

"Ask her!" announced Nathan, his voice trembling with anger.

"Luke…" began Taylor. "I've known you for a long time, since you and Haley toddled after me in diapers. You know that I tend to screw up a lot."

"And screw a lot," added Nathan cruelly.

Taylor glared. "Like you are one to talk. You –"

"Guys! Get to the point!" Cried Lucas. "I already know your history!"

"Oh." Said Taylor. "Then you know that Tyler is his." She wasn't sure he knew this part of their history, seeing as Nathan himself had only just found out, but she couldn't hold up the lies any longer. It was cruel to spring it on him like that, but she really didn't have much of a choice. Besides, she was Taylor. She was known for her bad choices.

"Of course Ty is Nathan's," agreed Lucas. "He's cared for that baby nearly his entire life. Tyler's first word was –"

"No," interrupted Nathan. "Tyler is actually mine…from the Varsity basketball party."

Lucas' mouth formed an 'o' as he understood the full extent of what his brother was trying to tell him. "Wow. How's Haley taking it?"

"Not so good," replied Nathan. "She understands it was before I knew her and maybe it's a blessing since he's our son already, but it still came as a shock to her, to all of us."

Lucas' fears about Haley's reaction were confirmed when she didn't return that night or the next. When she finally returned it was to kick Taylor out and tell Nathan that she was leaving to pursue her music career, with none other than Chris Keller.

"What about Tyler? What about me?" he asked her, pleading with her to stay and talk.

"It's not forever, Nate. I just need a break. I'm married with a child and I'm not even a senior! I can't do this anymore! I'm sure Lucas will help out when you need him."

"Lucas? He needs his mother, Haley! He needs you!" But Nathan received no answer but a slammed door. He sank down with his back pressed against it. What mother could abandon her child, he thought. Suddenly there was a banging at the door. His heart soared in his chest as he leapt up to open it, only to sink even further when he saw Taylor standing on the steps.

"Oh. Hi, Tay. I thought you left."

"I did. I am. I just came to say goodbye to Tyler." She handed him a folded envelope. "Take good care of him, okay?"

"What kind of mother abandons her child?" he demanded, and Taylor looked up at him coldly. "Haley left," he added. "Haley's gone."

"Oh Nate. Sometimes – sometimes it just gets to be too much, you know? She'll come around, though. Knowing Haley she'll be back here tomorrow."

But although Nathan waited, Haley didn't return the next day, or the next week, or the one after. Two weeks after Haley left, Nathan recalled the envelope that Taylor had handed him before she left for good. He found it on the coffee table, hidden under old newspapers and an empty pizza box. Inside were two sheets of paper. He sat on the couch to read them. The first was a note to Ty from Taylor.

_My son,_

_You might know me as your Aunt Taylor. Maybe you don't know me at all. The last time I saw you __you__ were sixteen months old. You got into everything and if your parents weren't careful, you would try to climb onto the kitchen chairs. Of course you couldn't and you often ended up falling over and bursting into tears. Although your mother, Haley, tried to get you to like classical music, you would only dance when your father turned on rap music. It used to be such a game between the three of you. Your mother and father love you very much, Ty. I'm sorry that I've never gotten to know you, but know that you have a better life than I could have ever dreamed of. Maybe one day when you're older I'll come back to see you again. Until then, be good and listen to your mommy and daddy. I love you very much, Tyler._

_Love,_

_Taylor James_

Nathan smiled and folded the paper back up, carefully. He'd put the letter in a safe place so that he could give it to Tyler when he was older. He gently unfolded the second piece of paper and smoothed it flat. It was a copy of Tyler's birth certificate. He remembered a conversation he'd had with Haley shortly after he found out about Ty.

_"Don't you have his birth certificate?" Nathan asked Haley._

_"No. Taylor took it when she left the hospital. She told me his name was Tyler."_

_"Does he have a middle name?"_

_"I don't know," answered Haley. "I don't think so."_

_"Don't you need a birth certificate for him?"_

_"He's only two months old, Nathan. I should be able to get a copy later on, but I haven't needed it yet."_

He read, "It is hereby certified and solemnly tested that TYLER NATHAN SCOTT was born at CHARLESTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL at 2:26 PM, this 2ND day of OCTOBER, 2003." When Nathan looked up from the letter to his son playing happily nearby he had tears in his eyes. "Tyler Nathan Scott." He whispered his son's name. Tyler glanced up before his attention was regained by his colorful building blocks.


	6. Chapter 6

Nathan's life went downhill after Haley left. Suddenly the glue that held them together was gone. One night Tyler wouldn't stop crying and Nathan lost it. He was out of diapers and the fridge held nothing but a half-rotted orange and a jug of sour milk. Every table surface was littered with pizza boxes and trash. He couldn't walk because the floor was covered with Tyler's toys. Nathan snatched up Tyler, still crying, from his crib and drove to Karen's.

He shoved the baby towards Karen. She took one look at the red-eyed baby who was now gasping for breath after his fit and took him immediately. "Nathan –" Karen began.

"Can you just watch him for a little while?" asked Nathan, desperate. Karen slowly nodded. "Good." He handed her Tyler's cup of juice and his blanket before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking briskly back down the sidewalk. He sped off in his car and didn't stop until he reached the liquor store.

By the next morning he was thoroughly wasted and feeling much better about himself. He almost crashed his car twice on the way to school but managed to stumble into Biology only ten minutes late.

"Okay, so we're going to pick up where we left off, discussing the process of mitosis," the teacher was saying when he arrived in the doorway. "Well Mr. Scott, long time no see." Nathan glowered defiantly as he took a seat.

"About time you finally pulled yourself together." Lucas leaned forward over his desk and spoke over Nate's shoulder to him.

"Whatever," replied Nate. "I'm only here 'cause my Playstation broke."

"Mr. Scott, do you have something you'd like to share with the class?" demanded the teacher.

"Yeah, actually." He pulled a can out of his backpack and popped it open loudly. Nathan then pulled a second can from his backpack and placed it on a fellow classmate's desk.

"Are you crazy?" hissed Lucas.

"Okay, please tell me you're not drinking _beer_ in my class," stated the teacher.

"Technically, it's malt liquor." He was beyond the point of caring anymore.

"Nathan!" the teacher cut in sharply.

"It's not like biology really matters anyway," decided Nathan. "I mean, biology is all about finding a mate and having kids, right? But my wife left me and I've already got a kid. So I don't really need to be here." The class gasped in unison at Nathan's words. Tyler was still a well-kept secret in the town of Tree Hill. Lucas shaded his eyes, not quite believing what he was hearing and amazed that things had progressed to this point. His brother was hurting, he knew, and Haley was the only one who could help him.

The teacher snatched the drinks away. "Come with me, please." Even with a please her statement left no room for argument; Nathan collected his things and stood, but not without a snide comment.

"That's a nice skirt, Miss Hann. You know, I bet if more teachers dressed like _sluts_, attendance in this place would skyrocket."

"Funny. Principal Turner's going to love that one."

Nathan received a suspension for his drinking and belligerence. Lucas called Haley that night, but he only got the answering machine. "Hey, Hales. I know I've left a few messages already, but call me back, okay? Nathan's in a bad place right now, Hales. I don't think he can go on without you. He was drinking in class and then he outed Tyler in front of the entire Biology class. He needs you, Hales. We all do." Lucas hung up and sighed. He lay back on his bed with his hands sandwiched between the pillow and the back of his head. It was going to get ugly, especially after Nathan's drunken slip at school.

Dan barged into Nathan's apartment without knocking. Deb followed close behind, trying to calm him down. Lucas, who had been sitting across the street for the last hour debating whether to go inside, jumped out and dashed across the street to shadow Deb into the apartment.

"What the hell, Nathan? You know what I heard at the dealership today? And from Tim's father, no less!" yelled Dan furiously.

"Oh, Nathan," said Deb, sadly, looking at the state of the apartment. Toys and dirty dishes were scattered everywhere and there was a stench of sweat, alcohol, and dirty diapers.

Nathan glanced up from the couch where he was sprawled gulping down the contents of the beer bottle in his hand. "Do you have something to add, too?" he directed to Lucas.

" Nate…" he trailed off.

"Yeah, whatever, man." Nathan took another large sip of his beer.

"Nathan!" Dan again. Nathan was getting tired of all this drama. "I did not raise my son to become a screw up!"

"Still about you, Dad, huh? Your son, your dreams. Maybe I don't want to play your games anymore."

"You're destroying your life, Nathan! It's not worth it, pissing your life away for some girl."

"Some girl?" cried Nathan, jumping up outraged. "She's my wife, Dad!"

"Really? Well, someone might want to tell her that," responded Dan with a smirk.

Nathan reared back and landed a right hook on his father's jaw. "Hey, come on!" yelled Lucas, grabbing his brother before he let his rage and inebriation get the better of him again. Behind the couch on the floor, Tyler began to cry. Everyone's heads swiveled towards the baby that Dan, Deb and Lucas hadn't realized was there. Nathan went over to pick him up, rubbing his back soothingly to calm the little boy.

"So Tim's father was right. This is the kid, huh, Nathan?" Dan's previous smirk had turned into a dark scowl. The ominous look on his face was made even more threatening by the blood running down his chin from his cut lip.

"Dan," warned Deb, placing a hand gently on his arm.

"Don't Dan me! He screwed around and now he's got a kid! A kid he forgot to mention to anybody, by the way!"

"Nathan," Lucas broke in, "Let me take Ty. He's getting scared from the yelling." Both boys looked at the infant, who indeed had his head buried in his father's shoulder and his fingers twisted in the dark curls at the nape of Nathan's neck.

"No," countered Nathan. "He's my son. I've got him." He pushed past his father, grabbed his car keys from the shelf by the doorway, and walked out the door. Nathan drove down the dark streets, not knowing where he was going until he ended up at his parents' beach house.

He walked down the beach with his young son snuggled in his arms. The ocean waves lapped at the sand, creating a soothing lull that had Ty's eyes drifting sleepily shut. A gentle breeze made Nathan shiver; the night was fairly warm but it was still only the end of February. It was ironic, really, that he had ended up seeking solace at the same place where it had all begun. The ocean had always been his favorite place. When he was little the time spent at the beach was the only time he was allowed to make sand castles and splash in the waves and just be a kid rather than have to practice free throw after free throw until he could do it in his sleep. As he got older, he would come down to the beach when his parents were fighting, or later on when the pressure his dad put on him got to be too much. Even now, the solitude made him feel at peace and calmed his fragile nerves. He had hit his father. He had come close, so close, to becoming him. The apartment was trashed and he hadn't been stone cold sober since Haley had left. Nathan looked down at his son in his arms and knew that he deserved better. He deserved someone who didn't just love him, but could care for him and give him the life Nathan had always dreamed of.

_"Nathan, honey, I'm home!" called his mother from the entryway. She walked into the kitchen and set the groceries on the island counter. "Did you have fun going fishing with your father?"_

_Eight-year old Nathan looked up from his __Playstation__ and grinned at his mother. __"Yeah, Mom.__ I caught an eighteen-inch tuna and me and dad cooked it up and ate it! He helped me gut it and I grabbed the guts out of it with my hands! And then we made a fire just like I learned in Cub Scouts!"_

_"That's lovely, Nathan. It sounds like you had a great time."_

_"Yup.__ It was awesome! Dad said maybe next weekend we could go back!"_

Nathan smiled at the memory. That week he had discovered that he had a brother, Lucas Scott, and his parents had gotten into a long, heated argument behind their bedroom door. His mother had left early the next morning for a business trip, or so she had said, and the talk of another fishing trip had been dropped. That memory was probably of one of the last times he had truly enjoyed hanging out with his father. Somewhere along the way, the pressure to succeed at all costs, the intense competition initiated by a man who lived in the past, the struggle to achieve dreams that were never his in the first place blinded them to the reason that they had started playing ball in the first place. They had loved the game.

And Nathan realized that he would have to be a better father to Tyler. He wanted his son to have good memories of his childhood, like he did. He wanted him to find something he was passionate about and stay true to his heart. He wanted Ty to dream and to achieve all of those dreams. But most of all, Nathan didn't want to become his father. He wanted his son to be able to be proud of his father, like he once was proud of Dan, a long time ago. Nathan lay down on the sand with his son asleep on his chest. He could stay like this forever, just him and Ty, stretched out by the ocean with the blue stars watching from overhead.


	7. Chapter 7

So this chapter contains M-rated Lathan. Be forewarned.

Disclaimer: I still do not own One Tree Hill or its characters. The song More Than Anyone is by Gavin DeGraw.

The dawn came all too soon and with it the return of Nathan's problems. He was still suspended from school and had no money for food or diapers. Because of his outburst in class, and Tim's big mouth, the entire town now knew the personal life of Nathan Scott. He returned home to a much cleaner apartment – at least his mom had cared that much – and put Tyler down for a nap. As soon as the little boy's breaths deepened in fatigue, Nathan headed to the kitchen to find what was left of the alcohol he had bought and then proceeded to finish it all.

As Nathan entered the house party a surprisingly-sober Brooke turned to him relieved. "Nate, thank you for coming." At least not everybody was already trashed. Or so she thought.

"Whatever. I just ran out of alcohol," he replied. Or, thought Brooke, maybe everybody was trashed. Apparently Nathan had done some pre-gaming on his own. She watched as he grabbed a cup of straight vodka and gulped it down. He then filled the cup back up to the brim and walked further into the house, out of sight.

A few minutes later, he stumbled down the stairs and nearly collided into Lucas.

"Whoa, there, Nate. Are you okay?"

"I'm great," replied Nathan sarcastically. "I have a beautiful wife who left me, a caring father who I nearly killed myself for, and a baby from a one night stand. Life's perfect, bro. And hey, nice wheels outside. Were they a gift from Daddy?" He turned and walked away before Lucas could reply, but not before he noticed what was clamped in Nathan's left hand. Car keys.

"Nathan!" Lucas called, running outside. Nathan was already in the driver's seat before Lucas caught him. "C'mon, man, you're not driving tonight. You're drunk, Nathan."

"I'm barely even buzzed. But you'd better hop in if you're coming." He touched his foot to the gas pedal and Luke jumped in just as Nathan took off.

"C'mon, Nate, pull over. You could get us killed."

"You didn't have to come. And I'm already in hell, man. It wouldn't make much of a difference."

"It would for Tyler. He needs his father."

"Yeah, and he needs his mother too, but I don't see her around here anywhere. Besides, he's better off without me."

"You don't mean that, Nathan." Whatever else Lucas had to say was cut off by the whine of a police siren.

"God, I love my life! Think we can outrun them?" joked Nate, slurring his words.

"Don't be an idiot, Nate. Pull over." To his surprise, his brother listened. The cop that shined a flashlight into the car a moment later wasn't as cooperative.

Dan Scott wasn't expecting the phone call he received that night. Nevertheless, it didn't really surprise him. When he arrived at the jail, both boys were handcuffed to opposite sides of the cell.

"They were fighting," said a guard quietly. When Dan looked closer, he could see the redness of Nathan's left cheek and the slight swelling under Lucas' eye. "Well, Mr. Scott, they're free to go."

"Drinking, driving and fighting! Good job, boys. Well done." Dan clapped sardonically as the three Scotts left the police station. Nathan ignored the comment and brushed past Dan, starting to walk home. "Go on," Dan told Lucas, surprisingly gently, "Go, Lucas. He's going to need his brother tonight." Lucas nodded and took off silently down the station's front steps, hurrying to catch up to Nathan.

Neither spoke until they reached Nathan's apartment. Once inside, Nathan paid the sitter – luckily he hadn't been so wasted so as to leave Tyler alone, Lucas thought – and turned on the Knicks game. Lucas sat beside him on the couch, ready to wait until Nathan wanted to talk. More quickly than Lucas would have thought, Nathan turned to him and broke the silence.

"So what's really going on between you and Daddy dearest?"

"He's paying for my HCM medication. And I'm giving him a chance to be the father he never was."

"So buying you a fancy car and having a basketball court in your own driveway will make up for all the years he neglected you?"

"No, of course not. But I don't have the money for my meds, and I can't tell my mom. It would break her. So I don't really have a choice, now do I?"

"We always have a choice, Luke. Like how Haley chose to go with Chris. She said it was just about the music but it wasn't. She kissed him, you know, before she left. She chose him over me."

"But Nate, she loves you. You know that. She'll come back."

"Love, Luke? What do high school kids know about love, anyways? Look what happened to Dan and Karen. Love sucks, man, and the sooner you realize that the better off you'll be."

If it had ever come out, both would have denied that what happened next ever occurred. Thinking back, they blamed it on the alcohol and loneliness and the discussion of what love means. Suddenly, their lips were pushed together and they were kissing, their tongues wrestling furiously and their hands desperately pulling each other's head closer. Nathan's hands moved down and grabbed at Luke's belt buckle and Luke didn't even try to resist. Within seconds they were stripped down to their boxers on the couch, with their tongues and arms still wrapped around each other.

Through the thin cotton, Lucas could feel how hard Nathan was, and just that thought made him moan out loud. "I need you," whimpered Nathan, and Lucas didn't hesitate. He pulled down his shorts and Nathan slid off of the couch to grab at his tanned ass, laving it with his warm tongue. He pushed Lucas down onto the couch on his stomach. "Are you ready?" Nathan asked, leaving soft kisses all the way up Lucas' spine. Lucas nodded, wanting it rough and fast, scared at the prospect but excited all the same. Neither paused to think that Nate had a wife, that they were brothers, that this was wrong. It was probably the alcohol talking, but it just felt so right.

When Nate filled him up it was unlike anything Lucas had ever felt before. His brother fit him perfectly. All the loneliness that both had been feeling earlier, all the insecurities about who they were and who they would be were forgotten. "Move, Nate," begged Lucas, and Nate complied. He slowly slid in and out, angling to hit just the right spot and make Luke scream. Nathan reached under Lucas and took Luke's cock in his hand. It was tender from Luke rubbing it against the couch cushions, and Nathan's fingers slowly skated up and down, gently squeezing when they reached its base. "Nate, I'm gonna, I'm gonna –" cried Lucas, and he came quicker than either would have expected, in hot, wet spurts into Nathan's hand. The rhythmic clench of Lucas' muscles was too much for Nathan and he followed his brother over the edge. He came with Haley's name on his lips.

Nate rolled over on the couch, pulling Lucas on top of him with Nathan's arm around his brother and Luke's head resting on Nathan's chest. They lay there sweaty and sedated, softly panting as they regained their breath and their thoughts. _He's going to need his brother tonight. _ Dan Scott's parting words echoed through Lucas' mind. Somehow, he didn't think that this was what Dan had meant.


	8. Chapter 8

So this chapter contains M-rated Lathan. Be forewarned.

Disclaimer: I still do not own One Tree Hill or its characters. The song More Than Anyone is by Gavin DeGraw.

It was October before the boys mentioned that night again. Lucas had woken, naked and shivering, to Tyler's cries. Pulling on his boxers and grabbing his jeans, he'd padded down the hall to the nursery. Tyler was standing in his crib, wailing, with his arms stretched out. When he saw his uncle his cries ceased for a moment before starting up again. It was a miracle Nathan hadn't woken up, but he was likely still hung over from the night before, maybe even still drunk. Lucas' memory was hazy at best, but he remembered enough to not want to be there when Nathan woke up. He found a bottle of juice in the fridge for Tyler and sat the little boy back in his crib. He handed him some cardboard baby books to look at and left the apartment, pulling the door firmly shut behind him until the lock clicked.

The only reason it didn't remain a faint recollection suppressed to the bottom of their memories was because Haley called. Over the past months, Nathan had slowly accepted that Haley was gone. He stopped drinking and started taking better care of Tyler. His son became his life even more than before as Tyler began to talk and even learned to toss a basketball. When she finally called, all the dulled pain, damaged hopes and nights alone were brought back to the surface.

Nathan had just gotten home from picking Tyler up at Karen's after school and had set him down for a nap before the phone rang.

"Hello, Scott residence."

"Nathan?" asked a voice on the other end of the line.

"Who is this?" asked Nathan.

"Nate, it's – it's me. It's Haley."

At this point there was a long silence as neither one knew what to say or how to say it.

"Oh. Well, uh, what did you want?" Nathan demanded at last.

"Um, how's Tyler? I got the pictures you sent. He's getting so big." stalled Haley.

"He's fine. He's sleeping. What do you want, Haley?" asked Nathan tiredly. He had long since stopped fighting and was now just heartsick at what had happened to their lives.

"I was thinking of coming home for a few days. We have a break in the tour, so…"

"Come home for a few days? Haley, you haven't called in eight months. You can't just come home and pick up where we left off."

"Oh. Well, I thought that maybe…okay, then. I shouldn't have called."

"Yeah, maybe not."

"Okay, I'll just go then. Goodbye, Nate. Give Ty a hug from me."

"Haley! Haley, wait!" cried Nathan, suddenly frantic that he was letting her slip through his fingers. Her first phone call in eight months – eight fucking months – and he had to be a cold-hearted bastard. But all he got in response was the dial tone. Once again, Haley was gone. Nathan broke down and sobbed.

With shaky fingers he picked up the phone again and dialed the number he now knew by heart.

"Hello?" asked the voice that he knew so well. A voice that was always there to help him through the darkest moments, connected to an ear that was always willing to listen.

"Hi. Listen, I messed up. I – I need you. Please?"

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"Thanks, Luke."

"Anytime, Nate."

It saddened him to turn to his brother when who he really wanted was his wife. But Lucas had been an outstanding uncle and a shoulder he could always lean on. He didn't kiss passing-through musicians or join their tours. He was dependable. He was a friend.

But the boundaries of that friendship, that brotherhood, had been tested many times since that night in late February. Usually it was when one of them felt lonely and couldn't stand to sleep alone again. Then they were gentle with each other, caressing, touching, loving. Sometimes it was frustration with the turns their lives had taken. Those times they kissed hard and rough, as if the pain could dull all their other emotions. But no matter how they never quite looked at each other, never quite wanted to admit who it was they were touching and kissing when the nights got lonely. Nathan still came with Haley's name on his lips, and Lucas still heard and tried to kiss his pain away. But they never crossed that line that they had crossed in February again. Kissing your brother was one thing, but fucking him was another, and both were wary of the difference.

The one unspoken rule was that they never talked about it. It just was what it was, but what it wasn't was something either wanted to discuss, or admit to needing. So when Lucas arrived at Nathan's apartment that day and Nate said, "We need to talk," Lucas knew something was terribly wrong.

"Luke," began Nathan slowly, "I'm scared." This statement surprised Lucas. Nathan had always hid his feelings of pain and loneliness. Even when he had leaned on Lucas to help him there had still been a wall, he had never fully let Lucas in. Even if he was scared he rarely showed it, and he never admitted to it. "What if Haley never comes back?"

And Lucas knew, then, that Nathan had finally admitted to himself what he had feared since last February. At last he acknowledged the reason for all the nights he had begged for Lucas to comfort him and all the nights Lucas had complied. But Lucas didn't have an answer for Nathan, because he didn't know the answer to the question himself. So he did the next best thing.

"Nate," he whispered, "Come here." He pulled his brother toward him and leaned his forehead against Nathan's. Nate moved closer and relaxed into Lucas, eyes shut and searching for Lucas' lips. He kissed him hard, frantic and distressed. Lucas felt wetness on his cheeks and leaned back; Nathan was crying softly. "Shhh, it's okay," he soothed, wiping away Nathan's tears with his thumbs. "I've got you, Nate." He held him close as Nathan's body wracked with sobs and his face, buried in Lucas' shoulder, stained his brother's shirt with tears.

And then for the second time, Nathan was pulling and tugging at Lucas' belt, trying to get it off. This time Lucas helped him. It was wrong, he knew, but Nate needed him, and he would do anything if it would comfort his little brother. Unclothed down to his boxers, Lucas lifted off the t-shirt of his still crying brother and helped him step out of his jeans.

"Luke," murmured Nathan, and Lucas led him over to the bed and gently lay him down. He straddled Nathan's legs, leaning over his bare chest and leaving soft kisses from the coarse wisps of hair below his belly button up to his jutting collarbone. Gradually, he reached a hand between their bodies and rubbed Nathan through his boxers. Reflexively Nathan arched his hips and ground into Lucas' open palm. Nathan's boxers were tight, stretched across his throbbing erection, and he needed release soon. "Luke," he mumbled again.

"I've got you, baby brother," came the reply. "I'll take care of you." He eased Nathan's boxers lower on his hips and Nathan's erection sprang free. He put his head down and touched his lips to Nathan's cock. With little licks he soothed its red heat and circled his tongue around its head, licking up precum. When Nathan's hips began to jerk involuntarily, fucking his throat, he felt Nathan's hand seize his hair and pull him upwards. Lucas touched his tongue to Nathan's so Nathan could taste himself there, a thought which had both boys twitching and shuddering.

Not quite ready to finish it yet, Lucas licked his fingers and slathered his ass and Nathan's cock with spit. Straddled over Nathan and bracing himself on his knees, he slowly sank back onto Nathan's pulsing cock. He paused for a moment before slowly lifting himself almost all the way off, then sinking back down until he sat on Nathan's spread thighs. Lucas built up a rhythm that Nathan matched with thrusting hips. Tears were still leaking from the corners of Nathan's eyes and running down his face, but his wrenching sobs had subsided. Now he gasped for breath in the moments before he exploded.

This time, though, it was different. Always before he had pretended it was Haley he was with, needed it to be Haley. But tonight, he burst into Lucas screaming his brother's name, and both boys knew there was no denying it anymore.

With Nathan's cries Tyler woke up and the moment was broken. Grabbing clothes from where they'd been scattered on the floor, they ran to fetch the baby. Neither spoke, neither even looked up. They knew what each other was thinking and feeling in their hearts, and that was all that mattered now.


	9. Chapter 9

He had two loves of his life. One was his wife. The other was his brother. Love, Nathan knew, was a tricky thing. It could make you happier than you'd ever been in your life, and it could break you just as easily. He loved his wife, but the pain when she'd left and the bitterness accrued in her absence came awfully close to hate. And he loved his brother. There was the love that you were supposed to have for brothers, the familial kind, the safe kind, and then there was the kind he had for Lucas. What they shared wasn't safe, and it certainly wasn't familial, but it comforted them both to know, to feel, that the other was always there.

Just before Tyler turned two and a half, Tree Hill was struck by another tragedy. Nathan had been home from school because Tyler was feverish and had been up all night, crying. Karen had finally suggested that it was an earache and Nathan had taken him to the doctor. Now Tyler was sleeping peacefully, Nathan having forced pink, gooey medicine down his throat. Ty's hair was stuck up in sweaty tufts but his forehead felt cooler, for which Nathan was relieved.

His sense of calm was short-lived, though. When he tried to flip to the basketball game all he found was "Breaking News." There was a picture of students running out of Tree Hill High in terror and cop cars surrounded the scene. "At Tree Hill High today, we've received word that a student pulled a gun," reported an on-site newsman with a microphone. Nathan leaned forward to hear more. "Although police will not release the name of the student, there is talk that it was Jimmy Edwards, a loner who recently declared his disgust at the superficiality of high school. Most students have made it out of the school safely though a shot was heard about ten minutes ago. Police are working to gain control of the situation. We advise that you stay in your homes. Students will be released to parents and the school has said that there will be psychologists on campus in the following weeks. Stand by for more breaking news coverage."

Nathan's first thought was, "Thank God I didn't go to school today." His second was, "Lucas did." That was all it took for him to jump off the couch, buckle a still sleeping Tyler into his car seat, and take off for the high school. As he pulled up he saw caution tape keeping people away from the school. Behind it, a tense crowd of people waited for news of their children, their classmates, their friends. On the edge of the crowd he saw Karen, and near her, Dan. He jumped out and ran over. Dan was arguing with a cop, their raised voices audible from a distance.

"My sons are in there!" yelled Dan. "What do you mean, you can't do anything!"

"I'm sorry, Mayor Scott. We can't go in until we have a handle on the situation. Who's to say that there isn't more than one gunman, or that he won't start shooting students if we corner him?"

"But he already shot someone! We both heard it!"

At this point, Nathan was close enough for Karen to see him and she ran to hug him. "Nathan! Thank God you're all right!" Hearing her, Dan stopped mid-argument and turned, his angry face relaxing slightly when he saw his youngest son.

"Nathan." Dan stepped up and laid a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay, son."

"Where's Lucas?" Nathan asked Karen desperately, needing to hear that he was safe.

Pain flashed through Karen's eyes as she slowly shook her head. "We don't know. We think he's still inside."

As his worst nightmare came true, Nathan saw his short time with Lucas flash before his eyes. Why had he been such a dick to him all those years? But now, Lucas, his Lucas, could be hurting somewhere, and he had to help him. "Tyler is in my car. Can you watch him?" he said quickly to Karen. "Don't worry. I'll go get Lucas."

As he raced off he heard Dan scream, "Nathan!" behind him, but that frantic cry just made him run all the faster.

The school hallways were dead. _That was a morbid phrase_, thought Nathan, as he ran through them. Backpacks had been abandoned all over the floor and it took concentration not to trip and fall. _Where could Lucas possibly be?_ _Let's see, it's about fourth period…_And suddenly, he knew. Luke would be where he always was during his lunch break – in the library, reading. His rejoice at being so close to finding his brother plummeted to despair as he entered the library doors, making sure to close them silently. There was a trail of blood across the floor, leading to an alcove behind the bookshelves. The alcove that Lucas always sat in, because as he had once admitted to Nathan, "No one bothers me there. It's just me and my book and I can fall into the world created by the author's words." That was Lucas, though. Give him a classic and he would be oblivious to everything surrounding him in no time. He crawled over to the alcove, wanting to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The sight there confirmed his fears.

Lucas sat huddled in the corner, breathing, but just barely. He squinted at Nathan through blurry, heavily-lidded eyes and tried to smile. "Hey…"

"Shhh," admonished Nathan. "Just focus on breathing, Luke."

Luke's leg was drenched in blood that had dripped down to form a puddle around him on the floor. He had ripped off his t-shirt and attempted to quench the wound but there was too much blood. The t-shirt was soaked through. Nathan knew that it was dangerous to leave the library and that it would be painful for Lucas, but they didn't really have a choice. Lucas was losing way too much blood.

Quickly, Nathan whispered his decision to Lucas and was rewarded with a jerky nod. He wrapped his brother's arm around his shoulders and supported his back and his knees. Luke leaned his head against Nathan's chest. Although Nate tried to move as carefully as possible, Luke winced in pain and his gasps for breath nearly made Nathan stop and give up altogether –anything to not be the one hurting his brother any more. But he knew Luke's only chance lay outside the school, and because of that he kept moving.

It was the bang of the library door as it slipped from his shoulder that told Nathan this was only going to get worse. Almost immediately, Jimmy Edwards appeared at the end of the long corridor. He was pointing a gun straight at the boys. Nathan slowly walked forward, trying to get as close as possible to the doors behind Jimmy in case he had to make a run for it.

"Stop right there!" screamed Jimmy. The fear behind his anger made Nathan take a slow step forward, then another. "I said, STOP!" Jimmy yelled again, and this time Nathan did. "I have a gun aimed at your head!" added Jimmy, waving that gun around. "Does that frighten you, Mr. Hot Shot? Not so in control off of the court, are you, Nathan?"

"I'm more afraid for my brother," came the calm, but harsh, reply. Nathan hoped that Jimmy wouldn't hear the trembling in his voice. "He needs medical attention. You hurt him badly, Jimmy. He could die."

"I didn't mean to." Jimmy spoke softly, barely above a whisper. His voice was just as fearful as before, but less cold. "He was my friend, you know."

"He still is your friend, Jimmy. But he needs to get to an ambulance, now." Nathan's voice was surprisingly understanding –Lucas had taught him that – but firm.

"No. I don't think he'd want to be my friend anymore. Not after what I did." Jimmy was close to tears.

"Jim…my…" breathed Lucas slowly. He reached out an arm to pat Jimmy's hand, but was too weak, and it fell to his side, hanging limply.

With Lucas' words, Jimmy seemed to make a decision. "Okay, go. Don't let him die." He waved the gun in the air as though motioning Nathan on.

"Jimmy…" began Nathan.

"Just go!"

Nathan rushed past Jimmy and carefully maneuvered his brother through the school doors, out into the bright sunlight outside.


	10. Chapter 10

Nathan sat slumped by Lucas' hospital bed, his hand encompassing Lucas' and his head resting on the edge of the mattress. At a glance it looked like both boys were peacefully asleep, but with a closer look it became evident that this was not the case. Lucas was in a coma; the multitude of machines beeped and rattled as they kept him from the edge of danger. Nathan tossed restlessly in his sleep, the scene in the hallway running through his dreams and turning them to nightmares. Deb had taken Tyler home, stating that a hospital was no place for a toddler and offering to stay with him.

Nathan hadn't left his brother's bedside since Lucas had been brought to the hospital four days ago, a fact which made Karen eternally grateful. After so many years of being rivals, the brothers had finally learned to rely on one another. She hadn't realized the extent of that reliance, however, until yesterday. Starving after forsaking food for so long in favor of watching over her son, she had finally gone to the hospital cafeteria. When Karen returned with enough food for herself and Nathan, the sight had shocked her.

_Lucas' hand was clasped in Nathan's as Nathan gently stroked his older brother's hair from his forehead. He leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss to Lucas' mouth, lingering there and trying to seek reassurance from the feel of his brother's warm lips on his. Karen had gasped, but not audibly enough for the young man in the room to hear. She had turned and walked from the doorway, feeling as though she were intruding upon something personal, something she had no part in. When she returned ten minutes later with coffee, Nathan had resumed his position in his chair and was calmly reading a sports magazine._

_"Nathan?" she asked gently. The boy looked up. "Here, I brought you some coffee and a sandwich." This was neither the time nor place to confront him about what she had witnessed._

_"I'm not really hungry," whispered Nathan._

_"You haven't eaten at all, Nathan. You need to keep your strength up," she persisted, and Nathan grudgingly took the offered food._

_"He's going to be okay, Nathan."_

_"I know, but what if he's not?"_

_"He will be. You saved his life. Not everyone could have looked a gunman in the eye and still managed to get out of there alive. You were brave."_

_"I was so scared, Ms. Roe. All I could think about was getting him somewhere safe where they could help him."_

_"Sometimes, Nathan, being brave doesn't mean not being scared. Sometimes it means doing what you have to even if that's what scares you the most."_

_"But what if being brave isn't enough? What if you try to face your fears and you just can't? What if you know you have to move on but it's just too hard?"_

_"Is this about Haley, Nathan?"_

_Slowly, the boy nodded. "She's not coming back, is she? She had a gig in Charlotte. I drove all the way there and told her to meet me after her concert, on the steps of the war memorial. I waited and waited for her. But she never came."_

_"And maybe she won't, Nathan. But sometimes people surprise you."_

_"No." Nathan shook his head sadly. "We had our chance. I still love her, but it wasn't enough. She won't be back."_

Karen stood in the doorway and watched the boys. Both were so hurt, almost beyond repair. Lucas would hopefully wake up soon; at least the doctor's had seemed to think that he might. For Nathan, though, what pained him couldn't be repaired on an operating table. He mumbled in his sleep and Karen stepped closer to hear.

"No, Haley!" he cried loudly. A tear ran down his cheek.

She leaned forward and shook his shoulder. "Nathan, honey, come on, wake up. It's only a dream."

Nathan shifted and sat up. He wiped his cheek angrily, embarrassed to be caught crying in his sleep, or at all. Realizing his hand was still entwined with Lucas', he yanked it back quickly and Lucas' arm fell off of the bed, dangling so that his fingertips brushed the linoleum floor. Nathan stared at what he had done, too dazed to carefully lift Lucas' hand back onto the bed, as Karen did a moment later.

That evening, Lucas finally woke up. He opened his eyes to see Nathan's brilliant blue ones staring back at him, overjoyed. Nathan leaned over and pecked him on the lips before brushing his long bangs off of his face. They had watched each other for a moment, simply relishing the fact that they were both there, alive. Then Lucas shifted and moaned. "What is it?" demanded Nathan hurriedly. "Are your bandages bothering you? Are you okay? Should I call a nurse?"

"Water," moaned Lucas huskily. Nathan leaned over his bed to reach for the water pitcher on the bedside table on the other side. As he did, Lucas tugged on his shirt, pulling Nate's lips down to kiss. Instead, Nathan's chin hit Lucas' nose and both boys pulled apart, grimacing but laughing.

Karen watched from her hospital chair, giving them a moment of private intimacy before stirring to show that she, too, was awake. The boys jumped apart guiltily, Lucas leaping so far backwards that he nearly fell off the opposite side of the bed.

"Glad to see you're awake, Luke," said Karen, pretending that she hadn't noticed the guilty looks or odd behavior. He smiled as he accepted the cup of water that Nathan had finally managed to pour for him. "You had us scared for a while, there. The thanks goes to Nathan, though. He saved your life." At this remark, Lucas flashed Nathan an even bigger smile. Their eyes spoke volumes that Karen noticed, but could not understand.

Nathan accompanied them home and tucked Lucas into his bed. When he came out again, Karen was sitting on the couch with a serious expression.

"Nathan, we need to talk." He glanced at her and knew instantly what she wanted to know. He had thought she might have seen him kissing Lucas in the hospital. He'd seen her shadow out of the corner of his eye, but by the time he'd turned around, she was gone. Nathan sat uncomfortably on the edge of the couch, by Karen, and turned halfway to face her. She handed him a mug of coffee and stated, "I think you know what I want."

"I'll be careful with him, I promise."

"I know you will. I just don't want to see either of you get hurt." She paused and looked him in the eye. "Nathan, how did it all start?"

"We were lonely," responded Nathan, looking down at the mug in his hands. "I was lonely. Haley had just left, and he was there to comfort me. And it just happened. We tried to forget it at first, but something kept pulling us together. I don't know what it was, really –"

"Love," broke in Karen.

"What?"

"It was love. I've seen the way the two of you look at each other. It's like you know that if you're together, the world will make sense again. Nothing can hurt you because you'll face it side by side."

"Yeah. How do you know all that?"

Karen smiled. "Because believe it or not, I was in love once, too."

"With Dan."

"Yes, with Dan. He wasn't always a bad man, Nathan. Once he was as happy and passionate as you are now. He loved to laugh and nothing lit up his face more than having just played a great game of basketball. I know that now it's all about competition and being the best, but once upon a time, Nathan, he really loved the game. And I loved him."

"I'm not sure I believe in love anymore, Ms. Roe. In the end, it only ends up hurting people."

"I know that you're hurting now. And sometimes that's what love does. But it can also be the best feeling in the world. Don't give up on love, Nathan. Don't you ever give up on it."

"Nate?" called a hoarse voice from the back of the house. Nathan glanced at Karen before getting up and going to Lucas.

"Yeah, Luke?"

"Will you stay with me?" Lucas asked quietly. Nathan nodded and climbed into Lucas' small bed, wrapping his arms around his older brother and giving him a quick kiss on the back of his neck. But Luke's words reminded him of someone else, someone he had known a lifetime ago, he thought, and he realized what he had to do.

_He showed up in her doorway after leaving the hospital. Even when the doctor had told his father that Nathan had collapsed from an overdose, his father still wouldn't accept it. It didn't fit his vision of a perfect world, and his perfect son, neither of which truly existed._

_ "Nobody answered the door." He said hoarsely when he walked into Haley's room._

_"They're gone for __the weekend…how are__ you?"_

_"Not so good." He answered and he sounded like a lost little boy, about to cry. "It's __just,__ I've made a lot of mistakes, Haley. __Sometimes because of my dad, sometimes by choice."__ Nathan sat shakily on her bed, staring at his hands. "__Sometimes I__ can't do it anymore."_

_"It's okay." Haley reassured him, afraid for him._

_"No. It's not okay. I'm not okay. When I fell on the floor tonight, I was so scared. I was so terrified. And I saw you, and I promised myself that if I could just get up I'd walk over to you and tell you how much I need you, how much I want you. And nothing else matters." She kissed him then, and in that kiss was a promise that she would always be there when he needed her, that she needed him just as much, and that together they would get through this._

_"Haley, would you stay with me tonight?" He asked her slowly, hoping she'd say yes, afraid she'd say no. But she knew that he needed her and that she would be there for him like she had just promised with that kiss; she nodded yes._

_He had fed Tyler his bottle and attempted to burp him._

_"He likes you," said Haley, and Nathan smiled weakly._

_"I've never been around babies before." He confided. "I mean, I've never really had the chance, especially not having any sisters or brothers."_

_"Except Lucas."__ Haley cut in._

_"Yeah," __grimaced__ Nathan. __"Except Lucas.__ But then, he's never really been my brother, has he?"_

It was true. Lucas had never really been his brother, not in any proper sense. They had been rivals from day one, an opposition encouraged by their father and one that only grew over time. They'd grown up in different households, with different families and friends. The only things they shared were a love of basketball, a hatred for one another, and a common last name. And over time, when Dan was removed from the picture, forcibly, Nathan might add, they had learned to overcome their differences. They had come to love each other as brothers, come to depend on each other, and perhaps they had confused that with something more. But it wasn't, it couldn't be. He was still in love with Haley. He had to go and get her back.

So when Lucas' sighs subsided into soft, rhythmic breaths, he carefully untangled himself from his brother and crawled out from under the blankets. He opened Lucas' bedroom door that lead directly outside – he had long been jealous of the freedom that door provided – making sure not to wake Lucas up. His first stop was to pick up Tyler, who stirred and whimpered when Nathan lifted him from his crib, but did not wake up. He left a note thanking his mom for watching the infant, buckled his son into the car seat, and set off to bring Haley home.


	11. Chapter 11

He drove all night and had just reached New York City when the sun broke over the distant hills. Her tour was supposed to have played in the city the night before and he hoped that she was still there. It hadn't been too difficult to locate her – just a few phone calls placed to some choice hotels where everyone was buzzing with the news that Chris Keller was in town. If Nathan heard that name one more time he was either going to kill someone or throw up. He hadn't decided which yet.

He reached the hotel where they had said she was staying and walked up to the desk. "Haley Scott?" he demanded, Tyler squirming in his arms.

"Um, we don't have a Haley Scott staying here," stated the clerk, scanning her finger down a long list. "I'm sorry." She smiled sweetly at him as if to say that it was still okay. It wasn't okay. Nathan was about to wring her neck just to get that stupid smile off her face.

"James. Try Haley James," he said impatiently. This time, her finger stopped halfway down the list.

"We have a Haley James. But it says here she doesn't want any visitors. I'm sorry, sir, you'll just have to –"

"I'm her husband, damnit!" cried Nathan. Tyler jerked at the loud voice and started to cry. Nathan bounced him in his arms and whispered an apology into his soft hair.

"Oh," stated the clerk, looking rather uncomfortable. "I was under the impression that she was with Chris Keller." Nathan's glare was enough for her to quickly give him the room number and scurry away muttering about "People these days!"

He banged his fist on the hotel room door incessantly.

"Hold on, I'm coming, I'm coming," came a voice, a male voice. Chris.

As soon as the door opened, Nathan reared back and landed a right hook just under Chris' eye.

"What the fuck?"

"You asshole! She's my wife!" screamed Nathan.

"Cool it, dude," answered Chris from the floor. "We're just splitting the room cost. I crashed on the floor."

"Right. Chris Keller, sleeping on the floor. Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"He did, Nathan." Nathan looked up from Chris to see Haley walking out of the bathroom. She looked just as good as ever. Her just washed hair hung loosely over her shoulders in beautiful honey curls. Nathan watched as she approached, amazed that even after so much pain and hate he could still be this breathtaken by her beauty. She smiled at him, and then at the little boy in his arms.

Haley reached out for her son, but Tyler whimpered and buried his head in Nathan's chest. He had been so little when she left, and he hadn't seen her for so long. Tears came to Haley's eyes as she realized the impact of her choices on her family. She dropped her arms and said softly, "You've done a good job with him, Nathan. You're a good father." She paused. "I'm glad that even if I couldn't be there –"

"Couldn't?" demanded Nathan. "Or wouldn't? Do you realize what we've gone through since you left? A year, Haley. It's been a year. Lucas nearly died, Haley. Did you know that? Did you even care?"

"Of course I care, Nathan," came the soft reply. "Do you think that it's been easy for me? But this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Working with Chris has been –"

"Yeah," interrupted Nathan. "Working with Chris."

"Hey, man. She's good. Real good. She's got a shot at making it, and she can't do that from Tree Hill," spoke up Chris. He brushed himself off after Nathan's punch. "No hard feelings, man?"

"LEAVE!" yelled Nathan. He held Tyler tightly with his little head pressed to Nathan's chest so he wouldn't be frightened. Chris scrambled to his feet and into the bathroom before Nathan could punch him again. "Haley," Nathan continued more quietly, "Can we talk?" She nodded and grabbed a jacket from the closet before motioning him outside.

They walked around the nearby park, talking about everything – their lives in the past year, how lonely they had been, what the future could hold. Nathan told her how he had felt abandoned and Haley admitted just how many times she had called and hung up the phone or nearly gone home before Chris convinced her to stay. They spent the whole day in the park, just walking and talking. At one point, Nathan pushed Tyler on the swings and helped him slide down the playground slides. Slowly, Nathan and Haley let each other back into their lives, through the walls that both had built around their hearts. Just after dusk, as the orange lamps flickered on in the park, Nathan reached out and took Haley's hand. Neither spoke, but both felt the comfort of holding hands, of being together after so many months apart, of realizing that their love really could transcend the ache of loneliness and the regrets they both shared. And the family of three decided to try again, to make amends in the little town on the coast of North Carolina that they both called home.

Nathan opened his front door the following morning to see his brother, shaky but standing on his own. "You left," said Lucas. "I woke up and you were gone." Nathan nodded silently, unsure of how to tell Lucas the truth. He didn't get the chance.

"Nathan?" called Haley from the back bedroom. "Who's at the door?" She walked out of a back bedroom clothed in nothing but one of Nathan's old t-shirts. When she saw who was at the door, she squealed and ran into his arms. "Luke! I missed you!" Lucas stumbled backwards as she hugged him, grabbing the stair railing before he fell over completely.

Over Haley's shoulder, the brothers spoke with their eyes. _"I'm sorry,"_ said Nathan silently. _"It just happened."_

_"But why?__ Was I not good enough for you?"_

_"Of course you were good enough, Luke. But Haley, she's my wife."_

_"I know. I guess we both knew it wouldn't last."_

_"Luke?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Me too."_

Haley broke away from Lucas and asked, "Well, why are we still standing here? Luke, come in, come in."

But Lucas looked at her and then looked at his brother and shook his head. "No, I actually have to go. I – I'll just see you later." He owed it to his brother and best friend to give them a second chance.

Haley nodded and shut the door behind him. "It was good to see him again! But it seemed like something was wrong when he just left. What did he want?"

"Oh, he just had a question for me. It's okay, I'll drop by the café later," Nathan responded. He didn't look Haley in the eye, but she didn't notice and instead went to get Tyler up. Nathan sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands, wondering where the hell to go from here and if his life could get any more screwed up.


	12. Chapter 12

This is the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed the story. Please tell me what you think, as that was the main reason I posted this. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill. The song More Than Anyone is by Gavin DeGraw.

But two and a half years passed with nothing out of the ordinary. There were fights and laughter and anxieties and tears but slowly the inhabitants of Tree Hill settled back into a normal life and found happiness in it. Then again, happiness is relative.

Lucas tried to put his high school years and those cherished, private months with his brother behind him. He wrote a book that topped the best sellers list and got together with his editor, Lindsay. Nathan and Haley created a life centered on their beloved son. Nathan played for the Duke Blue Devils for a while and even for the L.A. Lakers before realizing that his home was in Tree Hill. He gave up his basketball career and took to coaching instead. He and Lucas became the head coaches of the new Tree Hill Ravens.

Both thought that they had finally found happiness. But something was missing. Neither knew just what it was, but both felt it late at night when they lay in bed, snuggled close to someone else. That something wormed its way into their lives. It left the safety of the dark bedroom and reared its head in full daylight – when Nathan accidentally brushed against Lucas at practice, when Lucas called him "just to talk" or dropped by to watch a basketball game.

Nathan and Haley slowly grew apart as they got older until one day they agreed that it just wasn't working anymore. They had gotten married so young, before they really knew each other, yes, but more so before they knew who they, themselves, were. Their love for one another was just as strong as it had been then, probably stronger, but their dreams in life were too different. After months of talking, debating, hypothesizing, they decided to end it. They accepted the terms – split custody, spend major holidays together, for Tyler, move on with their lives. Their lawyers were bewildered when they both cried as they signed the divorce papers, but Nathan and Haley knew that it was for the best.

Lucas broke it off with Lindsay, finally admitting to himself that she wasn't the one he wanted. He tried to explain, tried to tell her that he loved her, he just loved someone else a little more, but in the end she simply packed her bags and left. He lay on his bed and cried before picking up the phone and dialing his brother.

"Nathan?" asked the sniffling voice on the phone. Nathan knew immediately that it was Lucas. Over the past few years, since Nathan had gone to get Haley, the brothers had stayed close. They worked well together as a coaching team and Lucas had always been there to help with Tyler. He had become the favorite uncle he had once told Haley he would be, and both Nathan and Haley were grateful for it. But the bond the brothers shared had never come close to what it had been just after Haley left. That was a thing of the past. Sometimes it occupied their dreams and they woke up to sticky sheets, but never did they let it enter their conscious thought.

Until now. Suddenly, both brothers were alone again, this time by choice. The fact that they had chosen this loneliness for themselves didn't help; if anything, it made it worse. So they turned to the only person that had always been there when times got rough, who had always listened and never abandoned. Lucas' lost voice on the phone pulled Nathan back through the years, back to a time when he had felt so lost, so desperate, and his brother had been there.

_With shaky fingers he picked up the phone again and dialed the number he now knew by heart._

_"Hello?" asked the voice that he knew so well. A voice that was always there to help him through the darkest moments, connected to an ear that was always willing to listen._

_"Hi. Listen, I messed up. I – I need you. Please?"_

_"Okay, I'll be right there."_

_"Thanks, Luke."_

_"Anytime, Nate."_

_It saddened him to turn to his brother when who he really wanted was his wife. But Lucas had been an outstanding uncle and a shoulder he could always lean on. He didn't kiss passing-through musicians or join their tours. He was dependable. He was a friend._

Now Lucas needed him. And Nathan knew, knew beyond knowing, beyond thinking of the consequences, or what was acceptable between brothers and what most certainly was not, he knew that he would be there for Lucas. Maybe he would be there to listen if Lucas wanted to talk, to hold him and wipe away his tears if Lucas wanted to cry. Maybe he would do more. But whatever it was, however their relationship would turn out, it didn't matter just then. Luke needed a friend and Nate would be that friend. Maybe all he was trying to say was, "I love you, Luke."

And Lucas replied, "I love you too, little brother." And all the lost dreams, all the tension of the past years when they refused to admit their emotions, all the pain and the heartache and sadness were washed away with those words. Because, after all, they were brothers. And in the end, brothers are always there for each other – no matter what.

_You need a friend._

_I'll be around._

_Don't let this end_

_Before__ I see you again._

_What can I say to convince you _

_To__ change your mind of me?_

_I'm going to love you more than anyone._

_I'm going to hold you closer than before._

_And when I kiss your soul, your __body'll__ be free –_

_I'll be free for you anytime._

_I'm going to love you more than anyone._

_Look in my eyes, what do you see?_

_Not just the color_

_Look inside of me._

_Tell me all you need and I will try_

_I will try._

_I'm going to love you more than anyone._

_I'm going to hold you closer than before._

_And when I kiss your soul, your __body'll__ be free –_

_I'll be free for you anytime._

_I'm going to love you more than anyone._

_Free for you, whenever you need –_

_We'll be free together baby,_

_Free together baby._

_I'm going to love you more than anyone._

_I'm going to hold you closer than before._

_And when I kiss your soul, your __body'll__ be free –_

_I'll be free for you anytime._

_I'm going to love you more than anyone._

_I'm going to love you more than anyone._


End file.
